Grandma May patted the back of Serenity’s hand as she spoke. “You and Zack haven’t held your wedding yet anyway. It’s not too late to have a child after the wedding. You should enjoy your romantic time together during this time.” It was fine as long as the young married couple was not taking contraception methods. They would have a child sooner or later. Serenity responded with a hum. She was not in a hurry, so she would just go with the flow. “Zack.” Grandma May suddenly asked Zachary, who was driving, “Has Callum made a move?” “How would I know? I only care about what he does in the company. I don’t care about what he does after work. He’s an adult and not a three-year-old kid. He doesn’t need his big brother watching over him.” Grandma May choked. “Nana, do you mean Camryn?” Serenity added, “I’ve seen her in person.” Grandma May had long known that Serenity and Camryn had met. She even knew Serenity had helped Camryn at the banquet, but she pretended not to know
Grandma May was glad to see the manor’s gate open. She turned to look at Duncan’s car behind them. Liberty and her son were in his car. Following behind Duncan’s car was Darrell’s family of three. Clive had to keep the pregnant Alice company because she was having morning sickness. She vomited everything she ate and only wanted to stay in bed every day, so it was not convenient for them to get out of the house. The second son of the Stones was rarely home, and Mrs. Stone did not ask him to come with. It would be enough for her and her husband to show up with Elisa.Zachary led everyone to park their cars in the open parking lot. Sam, the manor’s head butler, welcomed everyone with a smile. While Zachary opened the door to get out of his car, Sam opened the door for Old Mrs. York and reached out to support her. Unsurprisingly, she pushed him away and refused his help—it would make her look weak when she was clearly strong. “Old Mrs. York.” Sam smiled and greeted her w
Now, Tania and Mrs. Stone still had to sit together. Tania took Liberty’s hand affectionately and smiled as she said, “Liberty, just bring yourself next time, and don’t spend so much money on gifts.” Liberty responded with a smile, “I didn’t buy much, just some small gifts.” Tania looked at Sonny, who was being carried by Serenity. She asked, “Should I carry Sonny?” Duncan, who was carrying a bunch of stuff for Liberty, interrupted at this time. “Aunt Tania, Sonny is very picky. In any case, he doesn’t want me to carry him.” Tania looked at Duncan, whose hands were occupied. He looked like Liberty’s porter. In actuality, Sam had welcomed everyone and would arrange for people to carry the things brought by Liberty and Mrs. Stone no matter how many there were. There was no need for a guest like Duncan to do the work. Was Duncan trying to show off? A wise person who could see through the truth would not expose it. Tania smiled and said to Duncan, “Duncan, Sonny doesn’t want
For easier communication, Audrey and Liberty sat together after they entered the house. Audrey took the paper handed to her by Grandma May and looked at it with Liberty. In the end, the aunt and niece picked a date that was neither too far nor too near. “Let’s go with this date—it’s neither too soon nor late. We both have ample time to get ready,” Audrey said to the elders of the Yorks as she pointed at the date she and Liberty had chosen. Since her sister was no longer around, Audrey was ready to take over the responsibility and organize her niece’s wedding. She would definitely let Serenity marry into the Yorks in style and not let anyone look down on her. Grandma May, Tania, and the others had nothing to say about the date selected by Audrey. In any case, no matter which date was chosen by the in-laws, Grandma May had carefully shortlisted them. Lastly, they asked Zachary and Serenity for their opinion. Serenity had no comment. On the other hand, Zachary looked at the
Jasmine, who was sitting next to Josh, stuck her head out to see Duncan’s puzzled face. She pursed her lips and smiled. Duncan and Zachary were the same. Josh, on the other hand, had a high IQ and EQ. Among the three of them, he played the role of a consultant. Elisa and Remy were chatting happily. Remy was also only able to sit still because Elisa was talking to him. Otherwise, he would feel so troubled that he would want to slip away. He was most afraid of such an occasion. Seeing Old Mrs. York was likened to seeing the boss of his family. His grandmother was also always worried about his and his brothers’ marriages.Fortunately, Remy’s grandmother was not as active as Grandma May. Even so, she had handed them over to Remy’s sister-in-law to manage their marriages. This was because Jane had the potential to be a matchmaker. Josh stared at Duncan for a while and said, “Tactless people can’t use 0.25mm pencil leads.” “I don’t like to use 0.25mm pencil leads anyway—they
“Mr. Johnson, do you think Serenity and Jasmine were smiling strangely?” Since they stopped chasing her, Elisa walked side by side with Remy. She looked back at them as she walked. Elisa saw them whispering with their men. She would be lying to herself if she said she was not jealous, especially of Serenity. This was because Serenity’s partner was Zachary, whom Elisa had a crush on for years. Zachary treated her coldly and did not look her in the eye in the past. Elisa thought that it was his nature and that he would never be gentle his whole life. After witnessing the way Zachary and Serenity got along, Elisa realized that it was not that he did not know how to be gentle, but that side of him was not for her. Of course, Elisa was simply envious. She no longer had feelings for Zachary. Especially when Zachary had acknowledged Elisa as his cousin-in-law, Elisa knew the man would never belong to her. There were many fishes in the sea, so Elisa did not need to be hung up on
“Sure,” Remy said. Elisa asked, “Mr. Johnson, your family lives in a manor too, right?” Remy hummed and responded, “Ms. Stone, call me Remy. We’ll be neighbors soon, so there’s no need for us to act like strangers. A near neighbor is better than a distant relative.” “Alright, but you shouldn’t call me Ms. Stone either. In your words, there’s no need for neighbors to act like strangers. You can call me Elisa.” Remy smiled and continued, “Our family’s old house is also a manor, similar to that of Mr. York’s family. Ours is called FC Manor.” He looked at the scenery in front of them and said to Elisa, “It looks like Old Mrs. York and my grandma have similar tastes and preferences. They’re from the same era and have the same aesthetic standard. FC Manor and Wildridge Manor are quite similar.” If he had to point out a difference between the two manors, it would be that FC Manor was slightly bigger. Elisa also looked at her surroundings. “I used to dream of living here. It’s qu
“In the end, Cupid had to come down to Earth to clean up his apprentice’s mess and bring together the man and woman who were fated to be a couple. The show felt so magical when I first watched it. I was young and didn’t understand love, but the idea of bringing two people together by shooting them with arrows seemed really interesting.”Zachary asked, “Was there a TV show like that? I don’t remember seeing it. I rarely have time to watch TV.”He was the successor of the company and had to learn more than his peers since his childhood. He received all kinds of training and education, so of course he did not have time to watch TV.“When my parents were still alive, I often watched TV shows with them. TVs back then were still in black and white.“After my parents passed away, my sister and I were on our own. We had to focus on studying and didn’t have time to watch TV for several years. We only watched a few shows occasionally after we started working and had time.”Zachary held her
Serenity laughed and said, “I hope I’ll be toasting at your wedding soon.”Peter replied, “I think I'll get married before Dylan does.”Dylan’s romantic path had been much more complicated because he had not wanted to follow the smooth, well-paved road that Grandma May had arranged for him.“We have lots of happy occasions lined up after Christmas, then,” Camryn remarked.“Yes, lots,” Serenity agreed.The courtyard was lively, with the elders occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, inside the house, Dylan was thinking about what Serenity had told him. She had repeatedly said that the person Grandma May picked for him would definitely be the right one, someone who would suit him well.She also suggested that he look into Imogen and that there might be a pleasant surprise in store for him, but that he was not to let Imogen know. The implication in Serenity’s words was that Imogen might be Fox and that Fox’s real identity was Imogen Doyle herself.After understanding Serenit
Dylan frowned as he pondered deeply.“The scent from outside is wafting in. I think the food’s ready. I’m going out to have a couple of skewers to satisfy my cravings. You can stay here and think things through.”Seeing that Dylan had finally grasped the main point, Serenity stopped the conversation and went out to have some barbecue. It had been a long time since she had eaten barbecue.After getting pregnant, although she was not as strictly monitored as Jasmine was, she still paid close attention to her diet and would do her best to avoid things she could not eat or had to limit. Liberty called her every few days to remind her to be careful.When Zachary saw Serenity come out of the house, he immediately picked up a plate of freshly grilled skewers to his beloved wife, saying, “I deliberately used less seasoning on these for you, so you can eat them with peace of mind. Sonny’s asleep now, right?” “He fell asleep long ago, after playing so hard today,” Serenity replied, then gr
In that case, Grandma May would not even need to step in to teach him a lesson. His older brothers would beat him up multiple times for tarnishing the York family’s reputation and dragging their names in the mud with his own.“Dylan, I told you that if you didn’t trust Nana, you’d face the consequences. Look, you’re starting to suffer now, aren’t you?” Serenity said. Who was Grandma May? She was a kind-hearted but cunning old fox who could sell someone out and still make them feel grateful for it as they counted the money she made for her. How could she pick a bad match for her grandsons? There was no way they would be unsuitable. “Serenity, it’s not that I don’t trust Nana, it’s just that I really couldn’t fall in love with Imogen. I feel like if I couldn’t fall for her in almost three months then I just won’t. And I always thought about Fox when I was with Imogen. I’m not some naïve kid who doesn’t understand what that means.” Dylan smiled bitterly. His family always compla
“Callum and Camryn came with Trenton, so they’re all having a barbecue together.”Serenity hummed in response. She closed the door to Sonny's room and said to Dylan, “Is it something you don’t want Zachary to know? If so, let’s go to his study to talk." “It’s not that. It’s fine if he knows, but I’ve talked to him, and he couldn’t be bothered. Then I asked Julian, but he said he was busy. He’s taking Ms. Crawford to register their marriage tomorrow. I just wanted a little help from him; I didn’t need him to do it personally.” Dylan grumbled a little about Julian being unhelpful.If Julian could hear this, he would retort, “Why should I help you? Even Zachary isn’t that demanding.”If it were not for the fact that Zachary and his cousin, Josh, were best buddies, Julian would not be so obliging either. Among the Yorks, Grandma May was the person the Buchams most respected. Of course, if it were something important, the Bucham family would definitely help, but Dylan’s request se
“I haven’t felt like snacking lately.”“Is the stuff made at home not to your taste anymore?” Whenever Serenity said she did not want to eat something she usually loved, Zachary would wonder if it was because the chef’s skills had declined, causing his beloved wife to lose her appetite. “It’s not that, I just don’t feel like eating them. I think maybe the baby is like you and doesn’t like sweets.”Zachary smiled. “If our son is like me, that’s fine. He’ll be steady, and in the future, the two of us will protect you.” If they had a daughter, he hoped she would be like Serenity. If she had his personality… Well, it would not be the most charming. Zachary wanted his daughter to be very likable. “I don’t need you guys to protect me, I can protect myself.”“Honey, don’t say that. I’m your husband, your man. You have to give me a chance to show off, or else people will say you married a useless husband. That would be so unfair to me.”Serenity chuckled.“Do you want to go watch So
“I can be just as considerate and attentive to you.”Quinn looked at him and could not help but laugh. “I don't mean anything else by that, you don’t need to be so defensive.”“You envy Serenity,” Julian said. “I don't want you to envy anyone. I want you to be someone others envy.”Uh, this sounded exactly like something Zachary would say. It looked like, occasionally, he really had learned a thing or two from Zachary.Quinn instantly felt smitten. She looped her arm through Julian's and whispered, “I already am someone others envy. I’m not envious of Serenity—I was just making an observation. They say Mr. Zachary dotes on his wife, and Serenity is very lucky. Now that I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, I believe it. So, I genuinely sighed with admiration. I know I’m very lucky as well. You treat me so well, and I am content. I really don’t envy anyone.”The young couple’s conversation went unnoticed by Zachary. He waited for his wife to settle before answering a call from Dylan.
“Well, Rowan can play for a couple of days, but he has to start working on his homework soon. The college entrance exam is around the corner, and we can't let him relax too much.”“Rowan's grades are very stable and good. It won’t be hard for him to get into college, so don't put too much pressure on him. It's not necessary for him to get into the same university you and the others went to.”Serenity still remembered the pressure she had felt in high school, though it was not as much as Rowan felt, and her sister's expectations for her were more relaxed; she was only expected to do her best. No matter what the results were, Liberty would accept it. Of course, if she could get into an Ivy League university, that would be great. Otherwise, getting into an Ivy Plus university would also be fine. If that did not work out, she could go to a public university or even take a gap year. Liberty would have been okay with any of it. Her sister always told her that as long as she was physica
Zachary would not do such a thing. Julian laughed. “It’s my first time getting married. I’m asking around because I’m inexperienced. That way, I can make a plan.”Zachary turned to look at him. He said, “How many more times do you intend to get married? I didn’t have any experience either back then. It was my first time going to City Hall. Besides, Seren and I got married in a rush and did not even know each other well. After getting our marriage license, I completely forgot that I was a married man.“You’re in a better situation than I was. At least you and Quinn have feelings for each other and a stable relationship.”Julian chuckled. He caught up to Zachary and placed his arm on his shoulder. He said, “We all know what we should avoid after you’ve set an example.”Zachary was speechless. “You and Serenity are an enviable couple now.“I want to learn from you and make people jealous of Quinn as well.”Zachary brushed Julian’s hand off. “I think you’ll do a better job than m
Zachary and Julian exited the house with two housekeepers behind them, holding a tray each with snacks and drinks. The two men had excellent eyesight and quickly spotted the love of their lives sitting at a bench some distance away. Zachary knew that it was because Serenity got tired from walking. In the past, some pregnant female employees would return to work despite being pretty far along in their pregnancies. Their workload was only slightly lighter. Since Zachary had seen those employees insisting on working even though they were pregnant, he used to think being pregnant and giving birth were not that difficult. He had never put himself in the shoes of the female employees. They insisted on working because they feared being replaced if they took an extended maternity leave. When they returned, they could be discriminated against and had to start all over again. While there were opportunities to be promoted in a megacorporation, one had to climb the corporate ladder ste